Amy Cooper Forever

by Craig Mullins

  For thirty minutes she sat in the tub, the blood had stopped, the aches were still very much alive and the feelings she felt for her husband weren’t going away any time soon. She cried not so much for what he had done, but for what she had lost–her loving husband. In all the years they had been married he had never once treated her in the manner he did last night. She wouldn’t give up on her marriage but she knew they had a long way back, if they could get back at all.

  TWENTY FOUR

  Wednesday 1st November 2017

  Pinky sat at his desk once more knowing that time was running out for him to complete his book, his goal he’d set himself was Christmas Eve. He knew that if he was going to finish he could not tolerate any more distractions, so at just past seven he was writing once more.

  Chapter 8

  I know I have spent longer talking about Amy’s fifteenth birthday than I should have, but it is important. You will understand why I did what I did after you hear the full story. So I make no apologies for dragging this bit out, saying that I will now fast forward to the start of her party.

  The night was scheduled to start at six o’clock, Amy and Hayley arrived back from their shopping trip around five and apart from a brief hello and a quizzical look from her, that was all I saw until she appeared at six on the dot. And what an entrance she made, she was wearing a dress which I could only describe as stunning, The dress was lemon yellow with large white daisies, her shoulders were bare and the hemline was a good six inches above her knee. Her shoes were simple white pumps. She looked gorgeous, as beautiful as I had ever seen her, and I was glad to see that she had kept her makeup to a minimum.

  At this point the only people in attendance were her parents, sister, her aunt and cousin, and myself. Her dad insisted on taking lots of group photos and made sure that I was part of them. I then graciously offered to take the camera to ensure that he was a part of his own daughter’s party photoshoot. At six thirty people started arriving, the gathering was mainly compiled of hormonal young boys and girls of Amy’s age. Probably forty in total with a ratio of about twenty five girls and fifteen boys, I assumed they were all her school friends.

  A lot of the boys were fairly geeky looking, but there were a couple with good looks and physiques to match, but I knew my Amy, she wasn’t the sort to be swayed by such things. She saw much deeper into people than the shallow depths that the vast majority of the population saw. One boy in particular got my attention, his name was Adam, he stood at six foot two, had a chiselled jaw line and I learned that he was the captain of the football team. He greeted Amy with a hug and a peck on the cheek which she returned and appeared to hang on for longer than was necessary. I could see I was going to have to keep an eye on him.

  I gave her some space to mingle, besides I didn’t want to monopolise her the whole evening, I would have plenty of time as I was staying the night, so would get to spend time with her once the revelry was done. After everyone had eaten and the DJ had set up, the music started. It wasn’t my thing as I hated dancing, but the boys and girls seemed to be having a great time, especially Amy. I was happy for her. A couple of times I caught her eye and she waved at me, them finally I felt a tap on my shoulder and there she stood. She was glowing, the sweat from dancing beaded on her forehead, “Let’s get some air.” She said as she grabbed my hand and dragged me along. I could still feel the touch of her skin, it was to be the last time we held hands. Once outside she gave me a kiss, not on the cheek like she had with Adam, no this was on the lips.

  “What was that for?” I asked, not that I was complaining.

  “For being you, for helping mum and dad set all this up for me, they told me what a great help you’ve been all day.”

  “It was a pleasure, I was glad I could help.”

  “Have you met my cousin Madison yet?” She asked.

  “Yes, we became acquainted earlier when her and her mum bought the food.” I told her, I didn’t elaborate any further.

  “I think she has a crush on you, every time I’ve seen her tonight she has been looking at you.” She laughed as she said it. “Will you dance with me later, I know you don’t like dancing but I’m sure you can make an exception for me?” She knew I couldn’t resist when she gave me that look and talked like that.

  “Of course I will.” I said without giving it a second thought that I hated dancing and could think of nothing worse to do. But if it meant I got to hold my Amy then it was a sacrifice worth making. As the evening went on I found very little in common with most of her friends and wondered what she saw in most of them. I tended to chat to the older people there, the conversation was considerably better. I chatted football with Mr Cooper (I was given permission to call him Rob), it turned out he was an Arsenal supporter. I talked about politics with Evie’s sister Gwen, we had quite a debate on the state of the NHS and how it could be made better.

  It got to about ten and I realised I still hadn’t had my dance with Amy, not that I was in a rush to dance but I noticed she didn’t appear to be about. I asked Evie if she had seen Amy and she told me the last time she had seen her was about half an hour ago and she was talking to Adam. She looked a bit uncomfortable as she told me who Amy was talking to, she couldn’t hold eye contact. I thanked her and decided I would go hunting. I wandered round the garden for fifteen minutes and still no sign of her, I asked a couple of her friends, one of whom I was sure was her best friend Chelsea. She told me the same as Evie had, only she sniggered as she said it. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. My stomach churned at the thought of what Amy and Adam were doing, were they more than friends? Did she like him? Had she kissed him?

  I decided to check the house, even though the house was supposed to be off limits to the party goers–there was a couple of portable loos in the garden behind the marquee. I could always claim I was just popping to my room to get something if challenged. I made my way to the stairs, checking the rooms along the way. I thought they may have been in the kitchen but on inspection it was empty, this was the first place I ever laid eyes on Amy. I made my way swiftly along the hall, a cursory glance in the sitting room, then I headed up the stairs. As I approached the top I could hear muffled noises, on the landing as I headed to the guest room (mine for the night) and the noises got louder. It sounded like moaning, I was outside my room when I realised the noises were coming from the room next door – Amy’s.

  I crept along and saw that the door was shut, as I placed my ear to the door the noises were definitely coming from inside. My heart beat so fast in my chest I was sure she would hear me. I placed my hand on the door knob and slowly turned it, with as little movement as I could manage I pushed the door open millimetre by millimetre. The noise flooded out, I had watched enough porn movies to know what the sounds represented. As I opened the door enough to peer in I saw him, his eye caught mine but he didn’t miss a stroke. He just smirked at me and carried on. My Amy was lying on her bed with her dress hitched up and this oaf with his trousers and boxers round his ankles was fucking her. I didn’t want to see but I couldn’t leave. This wasn’t the plan; this was supposed to be me next year. I watched as she grabbed hold of him to pull him deeper into her, I had to throw up. I kept it in long enough to grab my bag from my room and make it all the way to my car. As I leaned by the passenger door the evening’s offering evacuated my stomach. I stayed in that position until nothing but water came up.

  I realised I wouldn’t be able to get my car out as too many people had parked behind me. I slung my bag over my shoulder and started to walk, there was no way I was staying in the house knowing what I knew. I walked around for the next four hours, intermittently switching my moods between depression, anger, hatred. Hatred was the worst, I never believed I was capable of hating Amy. In the space of a couple of hours I had gone from a life to look forward to with Amy to a world where she would no longer exist. At two thirty I returned to the property, all the cars were gone and the house was in darkness, I was thankful for the tarmac drive rather
than gravel. It wouldn’t matter once I started the engine because I would be long gone by the time anyone realised and made it down the stairs. I was half way home before I realised there was a note tucked under my windscreen wiper. It would have to wait until I got home.I didn’t go home though.

  I must have read that note a hundred times that night. I still have it to this day, I think it is only fitting that I share it with my readers.

  Pinky,

  Hope everything is OK, sorry we didn’t get to have that dance, I was really looking forward to it. My aunt and Chelsea said you were looking for me, I’m sorry but I wasn’t feeling too good so I went to have a lie down for half an hour. I felt much better when I came back down but I couldn’t find you anywhere. I really hope you are alright and not ill. We will have to do something in the week if you are up to it.

  Luv Amy xoxo

  I never saw Amy or her family again until the night I met up with her in the chalet in Hemsby, and what a night that was.

  TWENTY FIVE

  Saturday 10th July 1993

  By six Sian was sat at a table in the restaurant, she’d ordered breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juice, full English and toast with apricot jam. She washed it all down with a pot of tea for two. Sian had been lucky, her active job and high metabolism allowed her to eat pretty much what she wanted. She was hoping that Philip would join her for breakfast but had her reservations that he would. All she knew was that the drive back would be interesting. She did have an idea though, she was going to pick his brains about the case, if that didn’t break the ice nothing would.

  At ten to seven she headed out to the car park, sure enough there was Philip standing by the car. “Morning, have you had breakfast? There’s time if you want to get some.” She asked as she approached the car.

  “I’m fine, I grabbed a sandwich and Snickers from the shop. Is that everything or is there more to bring down?” He said indicating the bag she was carrying.

  “This is it, I’ll just bung it in the boot.” She walked to the back of the car, her hair was still wet from her shower this morning. She was no longer going commando either, the thought bought back the memory of last night and what he’d whispered in her ear. She tried to put this to the back of her mind.

  They set off a couple of minutes to seven; with any luck the traffic would be light. Barely had they started when Sian started to talk, she thought the sooner she tried to put last night behind them the better it would be for the both of them. “This case, I’ve never asked but do you have any thoughts on it. As the first one on the scene you have a unique perspective.”

  “What do you mean a unique perspective?” He looked puzzled, but was glad that she didn’t appear to hold last night against him.

  “As the first on scene you see it without any bias, let me give you an example. When I arrived the first thing I saw was the look of horror on your face, then Ray the lead SOCO came out and told me to be prepared for a scene like I’d never seen before. So as you can see my mind was already muddied with other opinions, and outside contaminants. You saw everything with no preconceptions, just your intuition. For instance when I asked if you called for medical help you informed me that you knew that wasn’t necessary–and you were right–but you determined that no one else. So do you see what I mean you did things as the first that others merely followed your lead and may not have observed things that could turn out to be important. Don’t get me wrong I’m not for one minute saying you missed anything, but if you are up to it could we go over the events of that morning.”

  “Sure, I’ll try. I’m not sure what else there may be though.” He was pleased that she had asked for his help and it would give him something to occupy his mind for the journey home. “I won’t go over what I’ve already told you but there were a couple of things that have come to mind since the incident.” He offered.

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t recall seeing the room key in the chalet, was it handed in or found in the chalet?” She scribbled notes as he talked.

  “I will check when we get back, but that’s good. These are questions that need answering.” She said.

  “I understand that a woman checked in the afternoon before but it wasn’t the victim. Does this mean it was a woman that committed the crime, and if it wasn’t are we looking for two people?”

  “We don’t know, it would be very unusual for this type of crime to be carried out by a woman, we think there may be a couple, or the one that did it has something over the woman who checked in to keep her silent. Something is stopping her from coming forward.” Sian conjectured, she wouldn’t dream of speculating like this with her colleagues in CID, they tended to like concrete leads, a leap of faith was all well and good if there was at least some evidence to point in that direction.

  They had reached the last stretch of the M25 before turning of on the M11. Two hours and they should be home, Philip thought back to the morning of that fateful day. “Car?” He suddenly said.

  “What?”

  “Car, how did Amy get there, the cars in the car park were all accounted for, and yet she got there somehow. Do we know if she drove to Norfolk?”

  “Her parents said she did.” She flipped back through her notebook until she came to the page she was looking for. “Yes, she drove a Rover 216S in gold. It was found in the car park on Beach road, that was one of the contributing factors in identifying her. Somebody reported the car after it had been left there for five days.”

  “So Why did she park there and not the chalet park? And is there any CCTV from any of the businesses that overlook it. I’m sure they have already thought of that though.” He added.

  “I will check with them.” She said.

  “What I don’t understand is that from what I saw at the scene, and I tried to see as little as possible was it appeared whoever did it seemed to be after revenge or retribution or something. You don’t do that sort of thing just for the thrill of it. He had to have a reason. Why the heart? Or more importantly why only the heart? Is it a symbol, does it mean something, was it her boyfriend or ex?” His mind was now going nineteen to the dozen.

  “We believe it to be a crime of passion, there are some things that are obviously kept back from the press, in this case a lot of the details were not released for reasons you know. But one crucial detail told us a lot about the person that did it, unfortunately I can’t share that with you.” We will catch the bastard that did it don’t worry.

  He indicated to take the slip road onto the A11, they drove in silence for the next twenty minutes or so. Sian periodically looked across at him as he drove, she realised he was a very good looking young man–a little too young for her she would admit–he had a look of concern on his face. She hoped she hadn’t pushed him too hard over the case. He’d gone very pale.

  “Are you alright? You look a little peaky. Pull off at the services and we’ll get a drink and stretch our legs.” She didn’t give him the option to protest, her tone told him it was not a question. After they’d stopped and both got a coffee and pastry they headed back to the station, it was barely eight thirty so they should be back by ten at the latest. Out of the blue and just before they turned off the A47 to make their way across to Caister he asked a question, “Will you send someone to the funeral to see if the person who did this turns up?”

  “No, things like that only happen in the movies, it would be a waste of police time.” She said.

  “Even though you believe it to be a crime of passion, if someone you purportedly loved died even though it was at your own hand, wouldn’t you feel the need to pay your last respects?”

  “Someone as sick as the bastard that did what he did to that innocent girl is incapable of love, whatever he felt for her certainly wasn’t love or any incarnation of it. He is a sadistic twisted individual who deserves to rot in hell for the rest of eternity.” She responded.

  Fifteen minutes later Philip pulled the car through the compound gates where the fleet of police vehicles
were kept, he parked between two marked cars and the got out, he retrieved the bags from the boot and followed Sian into the building. When they got to CID she took the bags and thanked him for his time and for the driving. She was glad the trip was over and that the return wasn’t as awkward as she thought it might have been. He must have taken the previous night to be exactly what she did–a casual fuck to release all the pent up tension of the day.

  TWENTY SIX

  Wednesday 1st November 2017

  Pinky couldn’t believe he had finished a whole chapter in one sitting, and it was only lunch time. If he continued his writing at this pace he would have no trouble hitting his deadline. For once he managed to get his food while it was hot, or at least as hot as it ever got. Today’s offering was toad in the hole with onion gravy; this was a greyish colour rather than the traditional brown. The mash was a lighter shade of grey, and the peas were more to the brown spectrum than the green. He still enjoyed it as he knew he would need the energy to keep up the pace of the morning, with any luck he thought he may have chapter nine finished by the end of the day. He was lucky that the others had for once been considerate to his needs.

  Chapter 9

  That wasn’t the end of that night, the night of Amy’s fifteenth party. No, although it was gone two thirty I wasn’t ready to go home. I had a full tank of petrol, so I decided to drive, driving always gave me clarity. With my anger at its height I tended to drive moderately, as my mood came down the speed increased. The worst was when the tears came, ones of sadness not anger, my foot would be pressed to the floor, I wouldn’t care if I lived or died. This was one of those nights when the pedal may as well have been glued to the floor. Through skinny country lanes, roads that were no more than tracks I just drove. I drove to no specific destination, as long as the car was moving I didn’t care what direction. Sometimes I would hit a dual carriageway, very occasionally a motorway, I tried to avoid both the latter options.